http://collection.shangrilahawaii.org/internal/media/dispatcher/58419/fullPierced Bronze Ceiling Lamp with Engraved Figures and Glass Inlay19th - 20th centuryOverall: 28 x 12 in. (71.1 x 30.5cm)Metalwork/Pierced and engraved copper alloy with red glass54.231This hanging lamp is pierced throughout and inlaid with red glass, producing a reddish glow when lit. Both the curving dome and globular body of the lamp end in pointed finials. Although this hanging lamp was created in the 19th or 20th century, it was designed to imitate an aesthetic of an earlier era of Islamic art, the Mamluk dynasty, which ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517.
In the 19th century, the world was getting smaller as innovations in transportation — steamships and steam engines— sped up international travel, and international expositions brought the art of faraway lands to major cities in Europe and America. Increasing interest and access in the arts of Islamic lands led to growing trade in Islamic antiquities. Craftsmen in Cairo and Damascus rose to meet this demand by creating revival wares sold in the cities’ suqs or marketplaces.Metalwork71.12000000001645173712